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US President Donald Trump has called for a federal tax credit for the film and television industry, saying the incentive would help bring major Hollywood productions back to the United States and create jobs.
“Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America,” Trump said in a social media post.
He added that films and television productions should be made in the United States, which he described as the former “Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World.”
Trump said the proposal followed a meeting with actor Jon Voight, whom he appointed as a special ambassador to Hollywood in early 2025 to help revive domestic film production.
Trump had previously proposed imposing a 100% tariff on films produced overseas, but the idea faced resistance in Hollywood, where industry groups instead pushed for expanded tax incentives to encourage domestic production.
Voight has been leading efforts to expand tax incentives for US film and television production.
Supporters of such incentives argue that they would encourage domestic production and reverse a trend of studios moving projects overseas to take advantage of lower labour costs and more generous government subsidies.
Hollywood has long filmed productions outside the locations portrayed on screen. For instance, the café and streets featured in Casablanca were recreated on a sound stage in Burbank, California, while much of the fictional African nation of Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther was filmed in and around Atlanta.
However, tax incentives in countries such as Britain and Canada have increasingly attracted US productions abroad. Walt Disney Co’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the highest-grossing film of 2026 so far, filmed scenes depicting New York City in Glasgow, Scotland.
Trump did not provide details of his proposed incentive. Industry groups representing more than 400,000 entertainment professionals had urged the US government in 2025 to revive and expand tax provisions supporting domestic film and television production.
Among their proposals were extending Section 199 deductions for manufacturing to film and television production, expanding accelerated deductions under Section 181, and restoring a provision allowing businesses to use past losses to offset future tax liabilities.
